The story of Frank Bruni-former food critic for The New York Times-and his love/hate relationship with food. It is often funny and occasionally serious with a few too many sides of Frank’s tumultuous homosexuality. Frank wants to make it clear that ever aspect of his being is profoundly effected by his relationship with what he eats, how much he weights, and what his waist size happens to be at the moment.
I read Ruth Reichl’s Garlic and Sapphires a few years back, in which the hyper-uber-super-foodie talked about being the Restaurant Critic for the New York Times and how she took great pride in being able to identify obscure ingredients like squid ink and how much she loved treating every day like Halloween as she wore even more outlandish and elaborate costumes in order to hide her identity from Restaurant owners. Frank talks about hiding under wigs and behind fake mustaches, but he clearly was not as obsessed with splitting his personality as much as Ruth was. He also is clearly not a foodie, but an eater, as he writes one series of articles about America’s fast food chains. It’s hard to image Ruth giving her attention to any meal of less than five courses.
But then, Born Round is not really a book about being the Restaurant Critic of the New York Times, it’s a book about a man trying to understand his own desires for both all the food he can physically eat and having a rock hard body. Along the way he dabbles with bulimia, speed, laxatives, and every crack pot diet ever written down. So that by the time he is offered the job as the Restaurant Critic, he has to have a bit of a debate with himself as to whether or not it is really a good idea.
Like all biographies, Frank’s story has a feeling of inevitability to it, he was born to eat, so it only makes sense that he would one day be the Restaurant Critic of The New York Times. It’s a fun read.
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Ruth Reichl’s book, “Tender at the Bone” is a fabulous book, and very funny, but I haven’t read “Garlic and Sapphires”. Probably the best author, in my humble opinion, with regard to eating and our relationship with food is Geneen Roth. Her books are stunning. “When Food is Love” is a must read for anyone who is or knows someone who is in an inordinate relationship with food.
I’ve been listening to the podcast “Sporkful” lately, which is basically two men who have serious, convoluted, 15-minute discussions about topics like ‘The Grilled Cheese Sandwich,’ ‘Burger Toppings’ and ‘Popcorn Etiquette.’ I find it absorbing in some very fundamental way.
You make the distinction between Eaters and Foodies and I know what you mean and think I lean towards being Eater-inclined which seems as robust and engaged by food but perhaps more…egalitarian? More interesting anyhow, to my sensibilities, than ‘foodie’ type fussing.
Anyhow, it’s a relatively new world to me regardless, the one of food talk. Almost as satisfying as eating itself! This book sounds good and i may have to scrounge it up.